Trade and investment promotion and negotiation abroad are likelier to boost Canada’s global economic performance, after barriers to trade, investment and competition have been addressed at home, according to a new Conference Board publication.

“Trips abroad to negotiate agreements with other countries or promote Canadian trade and investment put the cart before the horse,” said Danielle Goldfarb, principal research associate. “Were Canada to eliminate barriers to competition, trade and investment within its control-from addressing infrastructure deficits to removing interprovincial barriers — it would be better-positioned to take advantage of global trade and investment opportunities.”

The British Columbia-Alberta trade, investment and labour mobility agreement that takes effect April 1 is a promising step. This agreement commits to eliminating many trade and business barriers between the two provinces. For example, once TILMA is implemented, businesses will have to register in either province, but not both.

Evidence from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the World Trade Organization suggests that Canada has very high trade, competition and investment barriers compared to other developed countries. Further research indicates that changes Canada makes to its own policies are likely to result in greater trade and investment gains than policy changes made by other countries-to allow, for example, greater Canadian access to their markets.

Canada could dismantle some of the following barriers to make trade and investment gains:

– Regulatory standards and processes, especially those that differ among provinces or between Canada and trading partners
– Government purchasing restrictions
– Lack of credential recognition and restrictions on labour mobility
– Transportation and infrastructure restrictions
– Border policies

The publication, If We Can Fix It Here, We Can Make It Anywhere: Effective Policies at Home to Boost Canada’s Global Success, is publicly available at www.elibrary.ca.

The publication is published by the Conference Board’s newly established International Trade and Investment Centre, which is made up of more than 20 leading public and private sector organizations. The Centre aims to help Canadian leaders better understand what global economic dynamics mean for public policies and business strategies.